The term food security was originally defined at the World Food Summit in 1974 as a constant availability of adequate basic food stuffs by global food suppliers [1] . The definition was later complemented by including economic access to food in the definition. Adequate food is currently defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization also as safe, nutritious and meeting people's cultural preference as well as dietary needs for an active and healthy life [2] ,[3] .
Climate change, growing global population and rising food prices all affect the availability of food. Adaptation strategies are therefore needed in order to respond to the growing demand. The importance of country-owned and -driven food security strategies will help to ensure global and local economic growth and food security.
A video explaining the concept of food security
Criticism
One of the most prominent criticisms relating to the concept of food security concerns the political implications of global food security agreements. For example the World Trade Organization agreement on agriculture has been criticized of systematical favoritism towards producers in industrialized countries [4] . This institutionalized inequality in terms of food security is often founded on protectionism .
Another major criticism concerns the paradoxicality of western countries as they often simultaneously continue to subsidize agricultural production while demanding that developing countries open up their markets for foreign competitors.
Challenges related to food security
The current challenges related to food security can be defined as threefold. Firstly, there is a need to answer to the growing demand of the world's more affluent population. Secondly, it is important to do so in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner. Thirdly, it is important to ensure that world's poorest people do not remain hungry[5]
In order to achieve those goals, international and national governance has to become better aligned, developing countries need to discover ways to compete in the global commodity market and farmers in developing countries have to be able to earn a sufficient income. It is also important to ensure that developing countries can become self-sufficient in many of the basic cultural food items [6] .
Relation to UN Sustainable Development Goals
Food security is closely related to United Nations sustainable development goal of no hunger. One of the key aspects of food security is to ensure that even the poorest of people have access to enough nutritious food. Food security is also concerned with UN SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth especially in the developing countries. The focus is on trying to support local agriculture and decrease reliance on foreign suppliers.
UN SDG 10 of reducing inequalities is also an important aspect that relates to this. The basic idea of food security includes fair wages for the farmers and improving the living conditions of rural populations around the globe. In practice food security often also encompasses women, thus relating to SDG 5: gender equality.
Relation to corporate praxis
There are several ways in which food security is related to corporations. The financial deregulation measures especially in the United States have increased financiers interest in speculating on commodity futures and land prices. The speculation has caused rapid changes in the world food prices [7]These rapid changes in the price of food have increased corporations' interest in offshore land investments, which has engendered the controversial term land grabbing .
According to the Tirana declaration [8] , land grabs are land deals that happen without informed, prior and free consent of the community, and often result in the farmers having to leave their homes and livelihoods. These land deals are often made in the belief that the land is used to grow crops in order to feed the local people, when in fact they are used to grow more profitable export goods, such as palm oil, soy, and sugar.
Examples from Finland
After the world food crisis in 2007-2008, even industrialized countries, such as Finland, began to consider the possibility that population growth, environmental degradation, lack of resources and loss of farm land, as well as climate change, can in fact influence food security.
Finland is geographically one of the most northern countries in the world, which also impacts agriculture. Researchers have been able to determine so called vulnerability drivers in terms of Finnish food security. These drivers can be categorized to four groups. Firstly, to socio-economic drivers, such as war, conflict and social inequality. Secondly, to governance drivers such as public and private food policy. Thirdly, to anthropogenic drivers, such as land use and environmental pollution and finally, to natural drivers such as loss of biodiversity or plant and animal diseases.[9]
Second individual video about Finland's role in global food security.
3) Godfray, C., Beddington, J., Crute, I., Haddad, L., Lawrence, D., Muir, J., Pretty, J., Robinson, S., Thomas, S. and Toulmin, C. (2010). Food Security: The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion People. Science. 327, p. 812-818. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2019/pdfs/Godfray_2010_Science.pdf
Answers:
Question 1: Cultural preference is not included in the definition of food security.
Answer: False. Food and Agriculture Organization includes in the definition of food security food that is safe, nutritious and meeting people's cultural preference as well as dietary needs for an active and healthy life.
Question 2: The only challenge related to food security is that the poor do not remain hungry.
Answer: False. The current challenges related to food security can be defined as threefold. Firstly, there is a need to answer to the growing demand of the world's more affluent population. Secondly, it is important to do so in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner. Thirdly, it is important to ensure that world's poorest people do not remain hungry.
Question 3: According to the article, Finland as an affluent, industrialized country does not need to worry about food security.
Answer: False. According to the article, after the world food crisis in 2007-2008, even industrialized countries, such as Finland, began to consider the possibility that population growth, environmental degradation, lack of resources and loss of farm land, as well as climate change, can in fact influence food security. Finland is geographically one of the most northern countries in the world, which also impacts agriculture.
^ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2003). Trade Reforms and Food Security: Conceptualizing the Linkages. p.25. Available at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/005/y4671e/y4671e00.pdf (Accessed 27. Jan 2017).
^ Nord, M., Coleman-Jensen,A., Andrews, M. and Carlson, S. (2010). Household Food Security in the United States. United States Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. 108.
^ Godfray, C., Beddington, J., Crute, I., Haddad, L., Lawrence, D., Muir, J., Pretty, J., Robinson, S., Thomas, S. and Toulmin, C. (2010). Food Security: The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion People. Science. 327, p. 812-818.
^ Gonzales, C. (2002) Institutionalizing Inequality: The WTO Agreement on Agriculture, Food Security and Developing Countries Symposium: Trade, Sustainability and Global Governance. Columbia Journal of Environmental Law. 27(2). pp. 435-443.
^ Rosegrant, M. and Cline, S. (2003). Global Food Security: Challenges and Policies. Science. 302. pp. 1917-1919.
^ Ghosh, J. (2010). The Unnatural Coupling: Food and Global Finance. Journal of Agrarian Change. 10 (1) p. 72-86.
^ McMichael, P. (2012). The Land Grab and Corporate Food Regime Restructuring. The Journal of Peasant Studies. 39 (3-4)
^ Paloviita, A., Kortetmäki, T., Puupponen, A. and Silvasti, T. (2016). Vulnerability Matrix of the Food System: Operationalizing Vulnerability and Addressing Food Security. Journal of Cleaner Production. 135.
The term food security was originally defined at the World Food Summit in 1974 as a constant availability of adequate basic food stuffs by global food suppliers [1] . The definition was later complemented by including economic access to food in the definition. Adequate food is currently defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization also as safe, nutritious and meeting people's cultural preference as well as dietary needs for an active and healthy life [2] ,[3] .
Climate change, growing global population and rising food prices all affect the availability of food. Adaptation strategies are therefore needed in order to respond to the growing demand. The importance of country-owned and -driven food security strategies will help to ensure global and local economic growth and food security.
A video explaining the concept of food security
Criticism
One of the most prominent criticisms relating to the concept of food security concerns the political implications of global food security agreements. For example the World Trade Organization agreement on agriculture has been criticized of systematical favoritism towards producers in industrialized countries [4] . This institutionalized inequality in terms of food security is often founded on protectionism .
Another major criticism concerns the paradoxicality of western countries as they often simultaneously continue to subsidize agricultural production while demanding that developing countries open up their markets for foreign competitors.
Challenges related to food security
The current challenges related to food security can be defined as threefold. Firstly, there is a need to answer to the growing demand of the world's more affluent population. Secondly, it is important to do so in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner. Thirdly, it is important to ensure that world's poorest people do not remain hungry [5]
In order to achieve those goals, international and national governance has to become better aligned, developing countries need to discover ways to compete in the global commodity market and farmers in developing countries have to be able to earn a sufficient income. It is also important to ensure that developing countries can become self-sufficient in many of the basic cultural food items [6] .
Relation to UN Sustainable Development Goals
Food security is closely related to United Nations sustainable development goal of no hunger. One of the key aspects of food security is to ensure that even the poorest of people have access to enough nutritious food. Food security is also concerned with UN SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth especially in the developing countries. The focus is on trying to support local agriculture and decrease reliance on foreign suppliers.
UN SDG 10 of reducing inequalities is also an important aspect that relates to this. The basic idea of food security includes fair wages for the farmers and improving the living conditions of rural populations around the globe. In practice food security often also encompasses women, thus relating to SDG 5: gender equality.
Relation to corporate praxis
There are several ways in which food security is related to corporations. The financial deregulation measures especially in the United States have increased financiers interest in speculating on commodity futures and land prices. The speculation has caused rapid changes in the world food prices [7] These rapid changes in the price of food have increased corporations' interest in offshore land investments, which has engendered the controversial term land grabbing .
According to the Tirana declaration [8] , land grabs are land deals that happen without informed, prior and free consent of the community, and often result in the farmers having to leave their homes and livelihoods. These land deals are often made in the belief that the land is used to grow crops in order to feed the local people, when in fact they are used to grow more profitable export goods, such as palm oil, soy, and sugar.
Examples from Finland
After the world food crisis in 2007-2008, even industrialized countries, such as Finland, began to consider the possibility that population growth, environmental degradation, lack of resources and loss of farm land, as well as climate change, can in fact influence food security.
Finland is geographically one of the most northern countries in the world, which also impacts agriculture. Researchers have been able to determine so called vulnerability drivers in terms of Finnish food security. These drivers can be categorized to four groups. Firstly, to socio-economic drivers, such as war, conflict and social inequality. Secondly, to governance drivers such as public and private food policy. Thirdly, to anthropogenic drivers, such as land use and environmental pollution and finally, to natural drivers such as loss of biodiversity or plant and animal diseases.[9]
Second individual video about Finland's role in global food security.
Open Source Articles
1) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2003). Trade Reforms and Food Security: Conceptualizing the Linkages. p.25. Available at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/005/y4671e/y4671e00.pdf
2) Rosegrant, M. and Cline, S. (2003). Global Food Security: Challenges and Policies. Science. 302. pp. 1917-1919. Available at:
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~malcolm/BIOS5445-humanecology/Articles%20for%20students/Rosegrant&Cline-Science2003.pdf
3) Godfray, C., Beddington, J., Crute, I., Haddad, L., Lawrence, D., Muir, J., Pretty, J., Robinson, S., Thomas, S. and Toulmin, C. (2010). Food Security: The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion People. Science. 327, p. 812-818. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2019/pdfs/Godfray_2010_Science.pdf
External Links
http://www1.wfp.org/food-security-analysis
http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y4671e/y4671e06.htm
http://www.ifpri.org/topic/food-security
http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/foodsecurity
Quiz created by Outi Alk with GoConqr
Answers:
Question 1: Cultural preference is not included in the definition of food security.
Answer: False. Food and Agriculture Organization includes in the definition of food security food that is safe, nutritious and meeting people's cultural preference as well as dietary needs for an active and healthy life.
Question 2: The only challenge related to food security is that the poor do not remain hungry.
Answer: False. The current challenges related to food security can be defined as threefold. Firstly, there is a need to answer to the growing demand of the world's more affluent population. Secondly, it is important to do so in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner. Thirdly, it is important to ensure that world's poorest people do not remain hungry.
Question 3: According to the article, Finland as an affluent, industrialized country does not need to worry about food security.
Answer: False. According to the article, after the world food crisis in 2007-2008, even industrialized countries, such as Finland, began to consider the possibility that population growth, environmental degradation, lack of resources and loss of farm land, as well as climate change, can in fact influence food security. Finland is geographically one of the most northern countries in the world, which also impacts agriculture.
http://www.landcoalition.org/sites/default/files/documents/resources/tiranadeclaration.pdf (Accessed 1. Feb 2017).